Audio endpoints, such as conference phones, electronic personal/home assistants, hands-free/smart speakers (i.e., speakers with voice controls), and other devices that include a speaker and one or more microphone(s), typically separate the microphone(s) and the speaker either horizontally/laterally or vertically. When the microphone(s) and speaker are vertically separated, combing effects (due to harmonic cancellations) may significantly reduce the sound quality of the speaker and/or prevent the microphone(s) from picking up at least some sound. Consequently, devices with vertical separation between the speaker and the microphone(s) (i.e., electronic personal assistants) may not meet telecommunication standards. That is, devices with vertical separation between the speaker and the microphone(s) may be unacceptable for telecommunication purposes, even if these devices are still acceptable for personal/home assistant purposes. In some instances, devices with vertical separation may implement acoustic echo canceling (“AEC”) algorithms in an attempt to achieve acceptable echo quality. However, these algorithms may not be effective in all conditions. For example, some AEC algorithms require low distortion and low sound pressure levels to be received by the microphone(s) in order to provide full-duplex communication.
By comparison, horizontal separation between microphone(s) and a speaker typically prevents (or diminishes) the impact of acoustic coupling between the speaker and the microphone(s) and allows an audio device to operate within parameters specified by telecommunication standards. Consequently, audio endpoints for telecommunication operations (i.e., conference phones) typically provide horizontal separation between a speaker and the microphone(s). For example, some conference phones provide approximately 15 cm of horizontal separation between a speaker and a microphone. However, this horizontal separation creates a large horizontal footprint, causing many conference phones to have a footprint that is significantly larger than desktop phones or other such audio devices (i.e., traditional conference phones are 20-30 cm in diameter).